A silver rose
by Tormax
Summary: A crossover between Buffy the Vampire Slayer and the Chronicles of Amber.
1. Chapter 1

This is a crossover between the Chronicles of Amber by Roger Zelazny and Josh Whedon's Buffy the Vampire Slayer. I own neither, but enjoy both greatly. If you want to know more about the Chronicles of Amber, read the series its really good. Also check out M Scott Eiland's The Unicorn and the Slayer fan fic.

Joyce stared at the tray in front of her. Hospital food was so bland, was it any worse than airplane food? Lying next to her side, snuggled against was her youngest daughter, Dawn. Sitting in the uncomfortable chair next to her was her older daughter Buffy. Glancing out in the hallway, she spied the former watcher Giles standing there. He noticed her looking, smiled and walked on in.

"Hello, Joyce, I hope you're feeling better today." He said.

Joyce smiled briefly. "At least my head isn't hurting today." She glanced at Dawn, who was glaring at her older sister again. Would the sibling rivalry between the two ever end. There was no time to deal with that. The surgery was coming up in two days. She had to do this now while she was still rational, just in case she didn't make it through the surgery. This was not the best way to approach Buffy with the truth, but she had a right to know. "Giles would you be a dear and take Dawn to get something to eat, I can her here stomach rumbling."

"But mom, I'm not hungry!" Dawn protested as her stomach rumbled loudly.

"Dawn." Buffy snapped, an angry glare directed at her sister.

Joyce sighed, her two daughters were about to start their bickering again. "Dawn, please go with Mr. Giles. There's something I need to discuss with Buffy."

Dawn glanced at her mom before giving in. "Fine, lets go." She skulked.

Buffy narrowed her eyes as her younger sister stormed out following Giles. Taking a deep breath to calm down, she stared at her mom. "Mom, are you okay?"

Joyce sighed, this was something she had been dreading for a long time. This was the wedge in her marriage to Hank Summers. "Buffy, there's something I want to tell you...something that I should've told you a long time ago."

"Mom, if this is about the surgery. Don't worry, you'll make it through." Buffy said attempting to smile past her own worries and doubts.

"No, Buffy. I need to tell you this myself. In case, I don't make it through the surgery and please don't interrupt. This is going to be hard enough as it is." Joyce said with a trembling voice. Taking a deep breath, she looked in her daughter's green eyes, eyes that she had inherited from her biological father. "Honey...please understand what I'm about to tell you. Hank Summers is not your real father."

The color left Buffy's face as she heard her mom speak those words. "Mom...are you..." she trailed off unable to complete the sentence.

Joyce hesitated for a few seconds watching her daughter's reaction. "I'm fine Buffy. Please listen."

"But mom that's not possible...how." Buffy said.

"When you were younger, you had caught a nasty flu virus. The doctor ordered some blood work done to double check everything. He noticed that you had an exotic bloody type, one that he had never encountered before. It was similar to an AB positive type, but Hank and I have type O blood. The doctor told me and I never breathed a word of it to Hank. He found out later...but that's not important right now. Your real father was a man named Carl Corey. " She stopped as she noticed the tears in her daughter's eyes. "I'm so sorry Buffy. I wanted to tell you sooner...but I just didn't have the courage."

Something suddenly snapped, causing Buffy to look down and realize that she had broken the chair arms with her grip. This was too much. "Mom..you're having another episode...right...this will pass right," desperation filled her voice.

"I'm afraid not Buffy. I'm sorry, honey. But its the truth. Please let me continue," she waited for nod. "It was in December of 1980. I had went with Hank on a business trip to New York. We were fighting pretty heavily then. I had been accusing him of having an affair with his secretary, funny how that turned out. I got mad and stormed off. I found a club and went in, I don't remember its name. I just remember meeting him there. He was a retired Army officer and one thing lead to another. He was very nice and understanding especially when I told him that I should go. He gave me his number in case I changed my mind. I waited until I was outside and in the car before I tore up his number and dumped it outside the car."

Buffy's world had been turned upside down yet again. This was too much for her to deal with. First some monks had done some of their mojo and created an annoying baby sister, then her mom had developed a brain tumor, not to mention some super-crazed Cordy wanna-be wanting to take Dawn from her, and then the hammer of truth came crashing down. A voice brought her out of her inner turmoil.

"Hey Mrs. Summers, how are you feeling?" Riley said as he smiled at his girlfriend's mom.

"Mom..I gotta go...Riley..stay here with mom...I gotta go." Buffy mumbled before literally running out of the room.

"Buffy..." Joyce said, sighing as she watched her daughter leave.

Xander sat between his best friend and his girlfriend in the waiting room snacking on a twix bar. Even the candy tasted bad in a hospital. He was fixing to say something when he spied Buffy literally running out with tears in her eyes. A cold fear seized him, Joyce...no. He leap to his feet, telling Willow and Anya to go find Dawn while he went after Buffy. After several agonizing minutes of trying to keep up her, he finally managed to get her attention. He started to speak between his wheezing only to be literally crushed as she wrapped her arms around him crying on her shoulder. "Buffy, I'm so sorry," he somehow managed to get out.

"Xander....mom...said....that Hank wasn't my real dad...." Buffy said in a incoherent ramble followed by sobbing.

"Breathing becoming an issue Buff," he said relieved that Joyce was okay before what she said hit him. "What?" He stood there stunned as she told him everything with tears flowing down her face never noticing the sad eyes of Riley Finn watching him.

"Interesting" the dwarfish hunchbacked said to himself. He walked over to his desk and flipped through some pages in the book. This was a most unusual event. He had never encountered anything like this before...well he had once attempted to try this once...but his son would've never agreed to it. With what had happened, it was probably for the best. Still, this had opportunity written all over it. This would change the game greatly, if this could be duplicated again...why this could end the conflict all together. But it had to be handled carefully. He couldn't do it, it would alert Suhuy of it and that could potentially be bad. Hmmm....he carefully went through his trumps. Benedict...no, he had the mark of doom still. Bleys.....no, he's too much of carouser....Cain...dead, what a pity, Corwin....since this in involves him, no Dara might take notice. He thumbed through more before he finally settled on one of his better students, a short fiery haired woman with green eyes. He waited until the contact began before he spoke "Ah, yes, Fiona. I need you to come here..yes..I'll bring you here," he reached and pulled her to him. "You're familiar with the shadow that Corwin was banished to by Eric?" He waited for her nod before continuing "Good. I need you to go there. There's something that I want brought back here. This is very important. No one needs to know about this just yet. There's a small town called Sunnydale..its in California I do believe. Buffy and Dawn Summers. Bring them to me unharmed." He could see the wheels spinning in her mind and he hoped that she didn't figure it out yet. After all, anyone who could create someone capable of walking the pattern out of mystical energy designed to pierce dimensional walls was someone he really wanted to meet.

It had been a week since the surgery and her mom had recovered just fine. She had left Dawn at home to take care of her while she was meeting Willow at Giles'. Evidently, she had done some cracking on Carl Corey and had a lot to say. She opened the door and sat down waiting for Willow to tell everyone what she found.

Willow glanced at her friend's anxious face. What she and Giles had found out had startled her quite a bit. Biting her lip, she glanced at the former watcher before she started to speak. "Buffy, I did some digging and well...I'll just get to the point. Carl Corey was a former Army officer who retired to become a mercenary. That's not all Buffy, well Giles noticed something similar about the signatures."

"Will, what about the signatures?" Buffy interrupted wanting to get this over with.

"See Buffy, your dad was supposed to have been adopted and had everything signed over to him by his adopted father, whose had writing very similar. So we traced it back..Buffy it goes back several hundred years, Giles traced it back to England."

"So Buff, you're real father is a Macleod. There can be only one" Xander quipped before several annoyed stares shut him up.

"Buffy this is serious," Giles spoke up. "There are a number of unexplained things that me and Willow have discovered about your biological father. Someone had him committed to an insane asylum and as he escaped shot out his tired. He spent a few weeks in a coma before escaping the private hospital dropping off the radar for a while. He reappears a year later bloody on the side of the road and is admitted to a hospital, when a nurse comes in to see him vanish before her eyes and he's never been seen since. We discovered that a woman named Evelyn Flaumel was paying for his private hospital care after his wreck." Giles stopped as he took off his glasses and polished them a sure sign of annoyance. "However, Mrs. Flaumel disappeared shortly thereafter as well."

Willow interrupted "There's more, evidently you have a brother named Merle Corey who also has some odd things occurrences as well. For about seven years, on every April 30th it appeared that someone kept trying to kill him. A mail bomb, attacked by three men with weapons, a suspicious fire, and someone tried to run him over. He went to UCLA, Berkley Campus and majored in Computer Science. He was a track runner for the Olympics and went to work for a company called Grand Design where in the early eighties he was considered a brilliant computer designer. He even did some work with Bill Gates before he resigned and disappeared as well. He had friend named Lucas Raynard and a girlfriend named Julia Barnes who both disappeared as well"

"You're sure this isn't Carl deciding to be someone else Willow, he makes a habit of coming up with new names just to keep his stuff." Anya added.

"Positive. I managed to snag a few pictures of both Carl and Merle Corey, there's a strong resemblance but it's obvious two different people unless he's a shape-shifter. However, I did find something. Carl Corey's personal friend and former lawyer Bill Roth. It seems that Mr. Roth has long since retired, but he maintains an address in Palm Beach, Florida. I've got his phone number and address if you want it Buffy." Willow said.

Buffy stared at the wall for a few minutes trying to decide what to do. She really wanted to meet this man who was her real father, since Hank had turned out to a bust on both counts. She really didn't have the time to deal with this right now. There was mom's recovery, trying to protect Dawn from Glory trying to get her, and not to mention what weirdness the hellmouth could generate on its own. She was broken out of her thoughts by her boyfriends voice.

"I'll go and check it out for you Buffy." Riley said and he quickly spoke up again to forestall her, "Facts are facts Buffy. You need to be here for you mom and Dawn, Willow is busy with college, Xander needs to be here with Anaya, and you need Giles here for training and not to mention if the hellmouth does throw you something as it always does, you'll need them all. And this won't be the first time I've had to track someone down." he said while mentally adding to himself "Maybe a change of scenery would do them both some good."

Buffy smiled at him and walked over to him, snuggled into his arms "What would I ever do without you." She said .

To everyone else it seemed the matter had been solver, but Xander saw the pain in Riley's eyes and knew what those eyes reflected. He needed to say something to Buffy, but now wasn't the time and besides this might do them both some good.

"Well, thank you all for everything," Buffy said as she pulled herself out of Riley's embrace quickly kissed him as she headed for the door. "I've got to go and check on mom. Once again guys, thanks and Riley..you're the best." she said as she shut the door behind her. She walked quickly to her home, skipping her routine patrols of the many cemeteries that Sunnydale held. She was dimly aware of Spike behind her, but paid it no mind. Maybe Riley would find something out and have some good news to bring her. Still, it was a classic case of the soap opera that her life had somehow always been. She entered her home and ran upstairs to check on her mom to discover that she was resting and Dawn was curled up next to her asleep as well. A brief smile formed on her face before she entered her room and picked up the phone and dialed the familiar number again. "Cordy, can I speak to Angel?"


	2. Chapter 2

Palm Beach, a few days later.

It was a nice warm breeze that filled that open deck, nothing like Florida weather here in this shadow. And they brought back absinthe, how delightful. Too bad it wasn't like the old stuff, but still one made due with what one had. Glancing at the older man sitting across from her, she resisted a sigh, that didn't help make this matter any more clearer. "So, what did your private investigator find, Mr Roth?"

Bill leaned back in his green lounge chair and slid the folder toward the fiery haired princess. "Their mother is Joyce Summers, formerly married to a Hank Summers of LA, California. The older one had some problems in high school, seemed she burned down her high school gym, before transferring to Sunnydale High School where she stayed in trouble, yet scored very high on her SAT's, a 1430 to be exact. What is the most curious is the information about the town. It has the highest murder rate in the United Sates, yet no one there blinks an eye about the murders. Heck, the town's mayor disappeared when the high school was blown up during a massive gang attack that just happened to occur during Buffy Summer's graduation."

Fiona leaned forward and thumbed through the information. It seems that the apple didn't fall far from the tree. Very intelligent, moody, always in trouble, and had spent some time in an insane asylum. Yet, the youngest one just seemed like a normal child. Very strange, yet she had sensed that Dworkin had been primarily concerned with her. No wonder that no one had been able to find Corwin during his stay in this shadow. There was just too much bleed over from the realms of Chaos for any one to be able to pick up any real person. That activity in Sunnydale was just too much of coincidence and it was mirrored in Cleveland and in other places on this shadow earth. This would require her to visit this Sunnydale and get to know these Summers' women herself. "Thank you again Mr. Roth. It seems that I'm once again in your debt. Now you have the address for this gallery that this Joyce at?" Waiting for the nod, she thumbed through the report again. At least she had a way in.

Taking a sip of his iced tea, Bill brought up the subject that had been in his mind ever since the matter was brought to his attention. "What if she knows that Corwin is her real father and comes here asking about him?"

Fiona smiled briefly "Then would it be a lie if you said you haven't seen him in awhile?"

Chuckling to himself, "That would be the truth. I haven't seen him since he came to my house in New York. What about Merlin?"

"Seems he's moved on up. He's been crowned King of Chaos." Fiona replied.

Whistling softly before speaking, "That's great and potentially bad all at the same time." Bill quipped. "Does the King know?"

"We're not in Amber Mr. Roth, you can call him Random, I'm sure he won't mind." Fiona smirked.

"Sorry, an old habit. Anyways, I don't know if this has any bearing on this. But a few years ago after Corwin left and during Merlin's university days, I got a visit from some people asking some questions about Corwin. One was a British man by the name of William Lonergan, claimed to be an old acquaintance. I told him that I hadn't seen him in awhile. The other one was the oddest, someone from the Wolfram & Hart law firm, I think his name was Holland Manners. He's deceased now. A pity, seems he was killed hosting a wine tasting party."

That name sent off an alarm bells in her mind. That name was very familiar. What was it? This was not a time for thinking that it might come back to her. That was the way of fools and folly. A thing like that could be just as lethal as a knife in the ribs and she should know, after all, she did put a knife in her brother's ribs.

Sunnydale

The scotch burned as it went down. Bloody hell. Of all times, why now. How was he supposed to know that Buffy's biological father was recorded in the Watcher diaries. This had to be played carefully, if that Machiavellian boor Travers found out about her true father. It would disastrous, he'd stroll in and take Buffy and Dawn away to England, away from their mom and they wouldn't care about Joyce's condition. The might even take things to a wet works type of account. The thought made the Ripper in him stir, sending dark impulses floating to the surface. "I thank you for meeting me here Lonergan." he glared at the older, heavy set man.

The man sitting across from him blew through his grey, thick mustache before replying "It seems I had little choice in the matter Rupert." he reached down and brought the glass up to his lips.  
"Now before you go all Ripper on me chap, hear me out. Just because Mrs. Summers quit the Watcher's doesn't mean that they quit her. They knew that she would stay here in the hell mouth and continue to fight with you at her side in an unofficial type of capacity to be sure. Still, they knew that sooner or later that she'd run into something that would require their help. And that's when, old friend, that they'd come in and gloat about it to you and her most of all."

Anger coursed through his body, it was quite an effort to stop himself from beating the man in front of him. He knew that the Watcher Council would keep an eye on Buffy, especially with Faith in jail. How had Angel of all people reached that troubled girl? No matter. "And you have the information that I asked for?" attempting to keep the malice out of his voice.

"Of course Rupert. A file on Carl Corey or Cordell Fenneval or one of his other aliases. I won't ask why you need them, but a word of caution. The council will find out. Any information requested on this man or any sighting of him is a top priority to them, especially with Wolfram & Hart also seeking this man out." Lonergan said with weariness that matched his aching body.

"Thank you for your help. For both our sakes, you'd best get out of here before someone finds out what you've delivered." Giles waited before the man finished his drink and left before he began to read and find out more about Buffy's real father.

Sunnydale Cemetery

Pacing the cemetery grounds for the hundredth time did not help her mood. Four slain vamps did not improve it either and neither did punching Spike in the nose help any either. God, why was she chosen to do this, especially now. If only Angel would show up.

"Buffy" a voice spoke out which caused her to jump.

"Angel! Don't sneak up on me like that!" She literally screamed.

"Sorry, I thought you were aware of me." Angel deadpanned.

"God, Angel you could give Ninjas lessons on how to sneak around." Buffy said as she literally paced the grounds around him.

"Buffy, are you okay?" he asked.

Hesitating she spoke, "When you drank my blood...did it taste like a Highlander's blood?"

Angel glanced worriedly at his lost love before he worked up a reply "Buffy is there something wrong?"

Tears fell upon her face and before she could blink, he engulfed her in his arms and before she could stop herself, she was sobbing incoherently on his shoulder. After a few moments of him holding her, stroking her hair, and whispering in her ear that ever thing would be all right. If felt all right, just like old times, but it couldn't last. "Angel...my mom told me that Hank wasn't my real dad. And that's why he quit coming around."

Angel continued to stroke her hair. "Its okay, Buffy. That just tells you that you're better off without Hank. So who is your real father?"

Buffy sniffed enjoying the moment, but knowing that it would never last, it could never last. "Which one? He's had several names throughout the centuries."

Angel stiffened just for a moment. She's the immortal's daughter? No way. "Buffy, who is your father" he asked again.

"Last name he went by was Carl Corey before he disappeared in a New York hospital and before he spent some time in an insane asylum." she replied

Not the immortal, thank God Angel mentally thanked himself. "So what does that have to do with a highlander's blood, you're not Scottish."

"You know the who wants to live forever song by some band and he's an immortal wandering Scotsman" she trailed off at his blank look. "Movie...one you obviously didn't watch." she pulled herself from his embrace and rubbed at her eyes. "My eyeliner is trailing down my face, I must look awful."

"No, Buffy you don't. You could never look awful." he replied with all honest sincerity.

"Thanks, but that doesn't help. I've got the Scoobies looking into it, but I've really got my hands full." she replied.

"How is your mom doing?" Angel asked.

"She's recovering at home. She made it through the surgery fine. The doctors say that she'll be fine. " she said attempting to bring her sobbing under control. "All I know is that he's been alive since the 1700's, adopting himself to keep his stuff, and he's been a mercenary."

"Buffy, I know you might not want to hear this but, I assumed the reason your blood had quite a kick was because you were the slayer. Other than that...it was just blood...though it did have a unique taste, but I assumed that was because you had a rare blood type." Angel said with a pained face.

"Now that you mention it, that's how my mom found out. I had a blood type that the doctors had never seen before. Said they could treat it as BA or was it AB...but regardless when my da...Hank found out he'd had enough. That was why he divorced my mom and why he quit having anything to do with me, but that doesn't explain why ignores Dawn." Buffy stopped when she mentioned Dawn. Damn, she hadn't told him the truth about Dawn, but this wasn't the time.

"Buffy, I'm sorry that Hank turned out to be a let down. But if we can find your real father, maybe he'd love to get to know you." he replied trying to lift her spirits.

"And maybe he'd take a look at me and run just like Hank did" her voice filled with bitterness that she could not stop.

Stepping forward, he wrapped his arms around her even though it brought him more pain than he'd ever felt in his life. "Buffy, who wouldn't want to get to know you. You're a hell of a woman, you'd make any man whose worth a damn proud to be his daughter and don't you ever forget that." he pulled her close to him trying to take away the pain that was wracking her.

It felt so nice to be in these arms again. There was nothing that could threaten her, but finally a small voice in her mind kept repeating a name over and over. Riley. She gave him one last squeeze before she pulled away. "Thank you Angel."

"I can stay in town for awhile if you need me to" he said.

She leaned against the cold marble tombstone while she weighed what he said. He could pick up the slack while she was gone to Florida, but then she ultimately sided against it. What if Glory picked up Dawn in the daylight, there's no way he could help her and no way to keep Xander, Willow or Giles from being killed then either. "Maybe a day or two. I know you have your own responsibilities in LA. Speaking of LA, Cordy was extra lethal on you when I called. What's with that?"

Angel groaned before speaking, this was not something he really wanted Buffy to know, but then he could never keep anything from her. He began to speak of how Wolfram & Hart brought Darla back and the mess he made of his unlife trying to deal with it. They spoke on throughout the night neither were aware of the blond haired vampire watching them downwind, in the darkness.

Palm Beach, Florida

It taken him some time to get his affairs in order, but he was on a mission. And that was all that mattered, but to do that he had to get all the doubts and frustrations of a blond haired woman in California out of his mind. He shook himself attempting to clear his thoughts, he was at the address. Walking up to the door, steadying himself as he knocked.

After a few minutes the door answered and a slim man with gray hair and a course beard answered the door "can I help you?" the man asked.

"Yes, I'm looking for a Bill Roth." Riley replied using his best matter of fact voice.

"Speaking, can I help you son?" the man stated.

Riley extended his hand and squeezed the retired lawyer's hand. "I'm Riley Finn. I'm here looking for a Carl Corey, have you seen him recently?" He noted the brief look that passed the man's face.

"I'm sorry, but I haven't spoken to him in awhile. Please excuse me, I have things that I must attend to here." Bill said as he attempted to close the door.

"I'm here for someone else. His daughter, Buffy Summers." Riley stared into Mr Roth's eyes searching.

Bill sighed as he motioned the young man in. "Can I get you something to drink Mr. Finn?"

"No, thank you sir. I'm fine." Riley followed the older man into his living room and sat down on the leather recliner.

"So how is Mrs. Summers?" Bill said hoping to get some information out of the young man.

"She's a little bewildered after finding out that the person she thought was her father is not. But that is to be expected in these matters." Riley stated evenly.

"And just what is your relationship with the young woman?" Bill said.

"I'm her boyfriend." Riley replied but he doubted the words even as they left his mouth. "Her mom is very ill at the moment so I came in her stead."

Bill hid a smile behind his hand that was rubbing his grizzled face. He'd assumed the young man was the girl's boyfriend from the report that he'd paid quite a handsome fee for. There weren't many private investigators who would set foot in Sunnydale. "I'm afraid that there's not much I can tell you Mr. Finn. I met Carl Corey at a country club some years ago, before his troubles. Before his disappearance."

Riley nodded politely at the statement. The man wasn't lying, but he was holding something back. He didn't want to get physical with the guy as this was the only lead they had to finding Buffy's real father. "Forgive me for being so frank, Mr. Roth, but I'm going out on a limb here and say that you're holding something back." Riley waved off the man's denial. "You've obviously done your homework, hiring a private detective to follow me and my girlfriend around. I know who you paid and he doesn't come cheap especially in a vampire infested town like Sunnydale." He gaged the man's reaction carefully.

Bill sighed, the youngster was a sharp one and obviously ex-military. Well, at least he knew the reason behind the town's mysterious murder rates. "Since you know that vampire exist Mr. Finn then what I have to tell you may not come as a surprise." he had to be careful here there were things that only Corwin had the right to tell his daughter, where ever he happened to be at.

Giles' apartment

He'd been up for hours reading through the watcher diaries. Thank heaven that Xander wasn't here or he'd ask just what the difference were between the real and TV watchers and if he did know Joe Dawson. Evidently the watchers had observed this man, thinking him to be a vampire and there was nearly a run in with the slayer of that time...though apparently he had gotten to her in another sort of way. He'd fought in nearly every major battle since the 1600's. An old soldier, literally. Pictures of him with Major General Will Tecumseh Sherman, MacArthur, and even one with George S Patton. His last outing as a mercenary was no exception to his past deeds. Curious, there's a great mention of his strength. Even the slayer he meet was impressed by it. He thought back to his first training session and how she was stronger that he had expected, but then she was always stronger than Kendra or Faith. Did the slayer calling awaken her latent abilities and add to them? The diaries mention about Corey's recovery from a spinal injury that should have left him paralyzed for life confirmed his suspicions about Buffy's healing. She healed far faster than any slayer he'd ever read about. He leaned back in his chair and removed his glasses as he rubbed his eyes. This was bad. It wouldn't take the Watcher's Council long to find out that he'd called a favor due and asked for books about an immortal that they'd lost sight of and then he'd get a call asking for him to return to England for a few questions. He'd have to come up with something fast. But first he'd have to put Anya in charge of the shop for awhile and as he was loathe to leave Buffy's side during this ordeal he'd have to. Quentin Travers must never find out what she is or she'd never be free of them. Why were things never easy?


	3. Chapter 3

Castle Amber

"Let me get this straight, your son Merlin, is now King of Chaos?" The king groaned rubbing a hand across his weary face.

Corwin leaned back in his chair staring at his younger brother. Gone was the wreckless youth who he had remarked as a homicidal little fink, lines of stress filled his once youthful face. The signs of ruling were showing too plainly across his face. "Look at this way, this way we can stabilize both poles regardless of the actions of careless gods."

Random snorted before responding " Maybe, but I still don't like it. Why couldn't I be an only child?" He threw his hands up and before he read the reports in front of him. When would it ever end? "And while we're on the subject of family-"

"Do not even go there. I know we've reached a milestone with the stopping of the scheming and backstabbing, but it was my blood dripping on the ground." Corwin stopped himself from touching the hilt of grayswandir.

"Corwin....it all worked for the best." the king tried to counter but even he knew it was useless. If someone had done to him what their sister had down to the older brother across the table from him, he would've been plotting revenge as well. So much for the quiet...as if being King of the true city was ever quiet. Why had that unicorn chosen him again? He pushed the thoughts aside and weighed his next words carefully, "At least not here."

"Happy to oblige your majesty." Corwin replied with no mockery. "Now if there's no other business to attend. I'd like to sleep for a week."

"There is one last thing. Though I am sad, that you don't have any cigars to pass out." Random chuckled.

A blank look passed across Corwin's face. "Its a little too late for me to giving out cigars about Merline, he's fully grown and a king to boot."

"So, you're not going to give me one for your daughter?" Random said with a painfully straight face.

Surprise flickered in green eyes, "What do you mean a daughter?" Corwin said with a level tone.

"This is what our mutual friend Mr. Roth managed to find. Would you happen to know a Joyce Summers?" Random slipped a folder across the desk.

Picking up the folder, he frowned as he did remember that woman. A lovely night in New York, one of his last as Carl Corey before the troubles that awoke his formerly lost memories. Married to a Hank Summers..then divorced. Buffy Anne Summers, a bright girl from her SAT scores, a troubled childhood from her school records, but the blood work brought up a familiar theme. Rare, treat as AB. He rubbed his eyes, at least Darla wasn't involved.

"She has been trying to find out about you. She sent her boyfriend, a former soldier by the name of Riley Finn to have a few words with Bill. She's very interested in meeting you. I have a nephew and now a niece. Be honest Corwin, are you trying to outdo dad?" Random joked.

"Hardly, the old man remains the standing champion." Corwin mumbled.

"There's the address. Are you going to go?" Random asked.

"I'll be there just as soon as I have some lunch. I bet she's got tons of questions." Corwin's mind raced back to his amnesia days on the shadow earth. He had lived there for over two hundred years and had no idea who or what he was. Not as bad as the four years he lived in a dark dungeon after having his eyes burned out. Still he knew what it was like. Damn, another child he had not seen grow to adulthood or get to carry on his shoulders. Seems the old saying about the sins of the father being visited upon the son where true. He'd sit through any anger and resentment she'd throw at him, after all he'd endured far worse growing up around his own siblings.

The Magic Box

"So what you're telling me Riley, is that Buffy's father is a prince from a different dimension?" Giles said while using his shirt to polish his glasses.

"There's more. Apparently, he'd had amnesia here. He didn't have any idea who he was until he returned home. Then there was a war and he disappeared again, apparently one of his old girlfriends kidnapped him and had him locked away in a church that was dedicated to him. Mr. Roth knew more, but he said that he wouldn't tell me, that the rest was things that Buffy should hear from him or one of her aunts or uncles." Riley replied sipping on the freshly brewed tea that Giles had prepared for him.

Giles sat down and groaned. This just kept getting better and better all the time. "Did Mr. Roth say anything else?"

"Only that he had a way of contacting Carl Corey that he wouldn't specify and that he had passed a message along. If Buffy wants to meet him, then he'll come." Riley replied.

"And have you told Buffy this yet?" Giles asked feeling a coldness gripping his gut. Things were spiraling out of control. He felt helpless, adrift in a chaotic sea that showed no signs of ever calming down. With the knowledge that he'd been told about Dawn and now Buffy was a member of a royal family that consisted of immortals that fought grand wars across entire dimensions. None of what he was told made any sense and even though he didn't think he'd find anything, it wouldn't stop him from hitting the books.

"I was on my way there when I saw that you were here in the Magic Box." the former soldier replied. "Now, I'm on my way to Buffy's house. See her and check in on Joyce too."

Giles nodded as he watched the young man leave. Being to wrapped up in his thoughts to remember that Buffy was out with her mom and Dawn on a family outing. It was just too bothersome to think clearly right now, no matter how he'd wished otherwise.

Summers' home.

Riley approached the house and stopped before he knocked. Something wasn't right here. Glancing at the door, he noticed that someone had picked it. He opened the door as quietly as possible and stepped inside. Eyes darting about, he listened intently hoping to identify who or what had invaded the Summers' home. Finally, he glanced up the stairs to see a vampire who wished he was Billy Idol. "Spike, what do you think you're doing."

"Thought I'd stop by and see how the slayers doing, soldier boy." the vampire replied while walking down the steps. "Though, I fail to see how its any of your business GI Joe."

Riley crossed the distance between them in the blink of an eye and slammed the annoying vampire up against the wall. "And what makes you say that Spike?!" he practically spit the word out.

"Oh is soldier boy all angry? Wanna beat up the helpless Spike cause he can't fight back? Or are you trying to compensate for your shortcomings?" Spike sneered.

"Like you know anything." Riley said with malice filling every part of his body. Buffy should have killed him when she first found out about the chip. Spike would never change and if the chip ever stopped working, he'd be back to his old ways.

"Oh, you'd be surprised at what I know Duke. Like how you've been out of the picture for a week or two and the slayer runs back to an old boyfriend for comfort. Seems you just aren't man enough for her. Though what she sees in nancy boy is beyond me." Spike grinned loving the pained look that went across the commando's face.

Riley felt like he'd been sucker punched. For a few seconds he was silent but Spike's gloating brought him out of it. He struck out with his right hand as hard as he could, catching the chipped vampire in the nose and then dragged him and tossed him outside to get him away. He started to sit down when he heard Spike pounding on the door, not knowing why he did it, he grabbed the blanket and tossed it outside to the protesting vampire. Christ, he needed a drink.

The Magic Box

Buffy followed her younger sister into Giles' magic shop. Though the family outing was fun,Mom had begged off eventually as she was interested in returning to work. She saw Willow sitting at a desk with Tara and smiled, "So Will, how's thing with my favorite Wiccan?"

"Good, Buffy. How was the family outing?" Willow replied without looking up from the magical tome.

"Good. Mom is getting much better and Dawn is still Dawn." Buffy said, while glancing around. "Where's Giles?"

"He's in the back. He's been waiting for you to get back. He's really worried Buffy" Willow said glancing up at her friend.

"Okay, on my way Willow." Buffy walked to the back. She really wasn't in the mood for training today. When she entered the room, she saw Giles sitting with several books beside him. Figures, he's in research mode. "Hey, Giles, find out anything interesting?"

Giles glanced up sharply his face a thunderstorm before it softened. "Buffy, how was your family outing?"

"Good. And lets cut that off right there, Willow said you wanted to talk to me?" She said.

"Have you talked to Riley?" Giles asked.

"Nope. So I assume he's back from Florida. Did he find out anything?" Buffy said while bitting her lower lip.

"Yes. This Mr. Roth has a means of contacting your biological father and has sent a message to him. If you want to meet him, you need to call Mr. Roth and he'll pass along the message." Giles said.

Buffy's face fell instantly. Great another Hank Summers. "So its hard to pick up a phone and dial someone yourself these days even if they're your daughter."

"Oh, sorry Buffy. He can't exactly call you because he's in another dimension." Giles said picking up on her mood instantly.

Buffy blinked. "So he's immortal and can travel dimensions. At least he's talented." she quipped.

"Buffy, do you wish to meet him or not? Mr. Roth indicated that there was a lot of things that you should know and he preferred that you hear them from your father or one of your aunts or uncles." Giles said.

"So just how many aunts and uncles were they? Cause this makes Christmas shopping a major hassle this year. Just what do you get for people you didn't even know exist the year before?" Buffy said trying to find some humor.

"He didn't say exactly, only that there was something you really needed to know." Giles said with a bit of annoyance.

Buffy stared at the wall for a few minutes. The pain of Hank Summers' abandonment was still fresh in her mind and she had no desire to go through that again. Still, it would be nice to get to know her real father. "Is he a demon?" She asked.

"I'm not really sure Buffy. The Watcher's chronicles performed several tests trying to see what kind of demon he was, but they could find nothing conclusive." Giles answered honestly.

Buffy sighed before she answered him "Sure. I'll meet him. Could you make that call?" she pleaded hopping to wear down her watcher's defense.

"Very well, Buffy, I'll make the call. You should call Joyce and tell her." Giles replied.

"Now that that's outta the way. Anything new on Glory?" Buffy said.

"I'm afraid not, Buffy. I've exhausted all my sources." Giles said. Dreading what was coming. That trip to England was more vital now. He had to see if the Watcher's Council had any information about this Glory. He really hated fighting blind, though it always seemed that way here on the hellmouth."

Palm Beach

"Corwin! Nice of you to drop by. How have you been?" Bill Roth said extending his hand to shake the amberite in front of him.

"Nice to see you again Bill. I'm sorry that I couldn't come for Alice's funeral." Corwin said.

"No fault of your own there. Sit down, can I get you something to drink?" Bill said.

"Sure" Corwin replied sitting down upon the recliner. He leaned back and enjoyed the cool breeze that whipped his black hair about. He reached out as Bill gave him a cold beer. "What no cigarettes?"

"I don't smoke any more. Those things will give you cancer." Bill said.

Corwin merely stared at him for a minute before responding, "At least the beer is cold."

Bill started to reply before the phone began to ring. He looked at the number calling and instantly picked up the phone. "Speaking" he said into the phone. "Why, he's right here if you want to speak to him." he handed the phone over.

"Hello?" Corwin asked.

"Yes. This is Rupert Giles. I'm calling on behalf of your daughter Buffy Summers. She would like to meet you." the British voice said.

"Name the place and time." Corwin said without hesitating.

"How quickly can you come to Sunnydale?" Giles said.

"A day. I already have flight there tomorrow. Any particular place once I'm there? The Magic box?" Corwin replied while writing down the phone number and address before hanging up.

"Well that was fast" Bill said and after the nod he continued, "I don't want to cause any trouble in your family Corwin. But I didn't tell Random this, because Fiona requested it."

At the mention of the name, a cold rage filled Corwin's body. "You don't say."

Bill blinked at the tone and said, "Is something wrong Corwin?"

"Just a matter that needs settled between Fiona and me." Corwin replied. So she arranges things that cause me to lose quite a bit of blood and now she's in town just as I find out that I've got a daughter. What was she playing at?

Bill said, "Corwin, she said for me contact the ki....I mean Random. Surely, she wouldn't."

"It wouldn't be the first relative that she tried to do in. She's making a habit of it." Corwin reached into his pocket after a few seconds of concentration. "What do you know, my flight leaves in an hour. Care to give me a ride to the airport Bill?"

"Not at all Corwin, do you need me to come with you?" Bill asked.

"No, but be ready by the phone." Corwin said as he stood up. If she harmed one hair on his daughter's head, then his dear little sister's pain that followed would be a legend forever remembered among the royal family.

Outside the Magic box.

Fiona stared as the deranged man kept asking the youngest Summers' girl why she wasn't real. Hmmm...so the insane could see through the spell. Interesting, but not her immediate concern. She stepped forward placing herself between the madman and the young girl. "Sir, I think you're bothering the girl. Move along." she said applying some mental pressure to force the man to walk away.

Dawn blinked at the short red-haired woman in front of her. She kinda reminded her of Willow, but that was crazy. "Thanks" she managed to croak out but stopped as she saw white smoke coming from the woman's hands. She opened her mouth to scream out her sister's name but she was so tired.

Tara walked back from the bookshelf with more tomes in her hands and gently eased them onto the desk trying not to disturb Willow who was currently engrossed with what she was reading. Suddenly, she turned around and stared out the window into the street. Someone outside was casting a spell and she was horrified to see Dawn collapse into the arms of a short red-haired woman. "Willow, I think you'd better go and get Buffy now." she said while dashing outside only to see the woman and Dawn both vanish into nothing. Instantly, she tried a few spells to try and find Dawn. Nothing. There were tears coming from her eyes as she spied the entire scooby gang come out. "Buffy....I'm sorry...I wasn't fast enough..." she cried.

Buffy face was gripped with horror. Glory had Dawn...she was going to use the key and open the way to hell. She'd failed to save the world, failed to save her little sister. "Where did she go Tara?" she quietly asked. There was still a chance, maybe if she caught up she could save Dawn.

Tara continued to sob as she felt Willow's arms wrap around her. "I don't know Buffy... by the time I got out here they vanished."

Buffy closed her eyes. "We've got to find Glory.." she mumbled.

Tara blinked, "Bu...ff..Buffy didn't you say that Glory was a little taller than you and had blond hair?"

Giles immediately picked up on what Tara was trying to say. "Then it was someone else?"

"Th....this woman was short with red hair. Sh.....she reminded me of Willow." Tara managed to squeak.

"But that doesn't mean that this woman isn't working with Glory. For all we know that she's gift wrapped Dawn and delivered her." Xander said.

"Don't worry, Buffy. Me and Tara will do a locate spell." Willow said while consoling Tara.

The gang flinched from the look in Buffy's eyes. "Then get cracking ladies. We don't have a lot of time. Xander, Giles, get everybody some weapons. Anya, help Willow and Tara." Anger coursed through her,that was good, she was a lot better at dealing with anger than the doubts she'd been facing earlier, especially when she'd get to pound on what was causing her anger.


End file.
